COIMBATORE: At a time the State government is grappling with an increase in number of student suicide cases, another schoolgirl took the extreme step, apparently depressed over being scolded by her teacher. The class VIII student reportedly hung herself at her house near Mettupalayam on the outskirts of the city on Wednesday.
Despite several efforts made by the government to counsel students to face boldly their mounting syllabus burden, there has been no let-up in the incidents of students taking the extreme step. On Wednesday, 13-year-old K Pavithra(13), a resident of Karttumedu near Mettupalayam, was allegedly scolded by her teacher for lagging behind in studies.
The private school student from Mettupalayam had told her mother about her assessment and the concomitant worries. However, the mother did not give her proper counselling. On Wednesday, Pavithra committed suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling at her house in Karttumedu, police said.
Investigations revealed that Pavithra was once a bright student. However, her performance took a dip after the demise of her father. Her mother married a second time and her stepfather had been taking care of her. Mettupalayam police registered a case under section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code and were probing. The police made it clear that they had not received complaint.
“Once the name of the teacher is found, we would alter the case to abetment to suicide,” police added. Following the incident, school education department officials, along with ChildLine officials, held inquiries with the teachers of the school.
Students and parents can dial up toll-free number 104 set up by the Health Department for getting expert advice on handling student-related queries and issues.